Mike Beasley

Photo: mashable.com

Apple CEO Tim Cook rejected a propsal from a representative of the National Center for Public Policy Research during today’s shareholder meeting. The proposal would have required the tech company to disclose the cost of any environmental initiatives it engaged in and end those that could take away from the company’s bottom line.

Cook reportedly became angry at the question, telling the representative that financial gain was not the purpose of ensuring environmental responsibility, saying, “If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.” Cook also pointed out that making devices accessible for disabled users does not necessarily lead to increased revenue, but that doesn’t stop the company from searching for new ways to do so.

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When announcing iOS 7 last year, Apple previewed an upcoming featured called iOS in the Car that will allow automotive manufacturers to integrate iOS-powered mobile devices into the media centers in their cars. The feature was noted as “coming in 2014” and no more was said about it until just recently when developers managed to get the system working on the iPhone Simulator.

Now, the Financial Times reports that three automotive companies are preparing to show off their first new vehicles equipped with the technology. This doesn’t necessarily mean that iOS 7.1—the update that will enable the feature on the iPhone and iPad—is coming next week.

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Apple published a new page on its iOS developer center Thursday night that lists a variety of resources for app designers looking to get the most out of iOS 7’s new look and feel. Most of the information consists of videos and documents that are already available to developers, but these were previously grouped in with other development resources rather than being set apart on a design-specific page.

The page’s header lists both iOS and OS X as platforms where “exceptional user experience” is paramount, but the resources below deal mainly with iOS 7 without any real mention of OS X aside from a single HIG document at the bottom of the list.

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Readdle’s app Documents has long been one of the most complete solutions for managing your files on the go. With an intuitive interface and powerful download management features, it has been a solid contender in the file management app arena for some time.

Today, the company has launched version 5.0 of the software, introducing a host of new features and a colorful design refresh for iOS 7. Keep reading for a full review of the new look and features available in the latest update.

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Apple recently introduced several changes to the ways education and enterprise customers can manage iOS device deployments.

The first of these changes has to do with how devices are configured before being assigned to employees. Previously IT administrators would have to plug each device into a computer and apply a profile that configured the settings and restrictions. Under the revised program, customers can now order pre-configured devices directly from Apple, cutting out the setup step and allowing for faster, more convenient deployment. These profiles are also locked to the device, which prevents end users from removing them to use the device as they please.

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Apple quietly updated the retail section of its website today with a new look that more closely resembles iOS 7. Where the previous version of these pages used content boxes, borders, textured backgrounds, and gradients, the new page instead utilizes ample whitespace and thinner typefaces.

The change is probably best illustrated on the section’s home page, where images previously constrained by content boxes now fill the entire page. On the “Learn” page, buttons with heavy gradients have been replaced by thinly-outlined, lighter versions of the previous design. Gradient-filled headers have disappeared from every page, now replaced by unadorned text.

Oddly, the “Make a Reservation” button that allowed users to quickly create a Genius Bar appointment has been removed from the site’s navigation. Appointments can only be made by navigating to the Genius Bar page and clicking a link in the first paragraph of that page’s content. The Concierge page has not been updated to the new design yet.

You’ll find a bunch of before-and-after comparisons and take our poll on the new design below:

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Ayecon (that’s pronounced Icon) has long been hailed as one of the most amazing, most complete themes available for jailbroken iOS devices. Today, Surenix, the designer behind that theme, has released the iOS 7-inspired Ayeris (pronounced Iris). The theme features colorful app icons, redesigned interface elements, and more.

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what the theme includes and even more screenshots of it in action.

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An SEC filing today confirmed that Facebook intends to purchase the WhatsApp messaging service for $16 billion.

WhatsApp is available on a host of platforms, including iOS and Android, and acts as an alternative SMS service. It’s likely that Facebook wants to integrate the app’s technology into Facebook’s own Messenger client, which recently gained SMS-style phone number-based messaging.

Facebook has provided more details of the sale, which will include $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in Facebook stock. An additional $3 billion in restricted stock will also be given to the WhatsApp staff. These shares will vest over four years after the deal is closed.

You can read the full SEC filing and Facebook press release below:

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Mobile payment app Venmo received a big update today that introduces a new way to quickly send money to nearby friends. It works just as easily as Apple’s AirDrop sharing system. The app uses Bluetooth to detect nearby Venmo users and lists them above your recent payment recipients when sending money.

While some apps make the process of sending money relatively quick, Venmo has the added benefit of making it easy to pay people around you without needing to enter any contact details at all, even if you’ve never met them before. The only catch is that both parties need to be using Venmo for the feature to work.

Venmo is available for free on the iOS App Store.

(Update: He’s back. Whew!)

Early Monday morning, Jonathan Ive, Apple’s VP of design, disappeared from the list of executives on Apple’s website. While this type of thing has usually only happened when an executive left the company, there’s no reason to believe this is more than a website glitch at this point.

In the past whenever someone has been removed from the list, his accompanying personal page was also deleted. For example, the link to Scott Forstall’s bio now leads to an error page. Ive’s, on the other hand, is still up and running. Apple would also likely issue a press release if such a high-ranking member of its team was suddenly out.

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While Apple has been acquiring talent to bolster its iWatch team at an incredible pace, there is still talent left to be brought into the fold. Today, TechCrunch reports that Basis, a company that makes health-centric smartwatches, is looking to be acquired—and Apple is on the list of companies being courted.

Basis is said to be in talks with other companies as well, and apparently has not settled on an asking price yet. The company has so far been unable to secure an additional round of funding needed to stay afloat, and is thus exploring other potential options.

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It seems the App Store has reached peak “flappy.” According to TechCrunch, multiple developers report that Apple has started blanket-rejections of apps using the word in the name, and perhaps it’s for the best. Four of the top ten free apps on the store are Flappy Bird clones—including all of the top three. Granted, only two of those four apps includes the word “flappy” in the title, but they all follow a pretty basic naming scheme that’s easy to spot.

According to Apple, the apps are rejecting for “attempt[ing] to leverage a popular app.” Can’t really argue with that logic. It’s not the first time Apple has made sweeping rules for a very specific, popular app category. From the App Store review guidelines:

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Apple is preparing to release not one, but two new versions of the iPhone in September, according to the South China Morning Post. Each version will ship with a larger display than the iPhone 5s, coming in at a whopping 4.7″ and 5.5″, respectively. The displays are said to have a pixel density of 441ppi, much higher than the current 326ppi found in the iPhone 5 and later.

The report also states that both displays will be made from sapphire crystal, which fits with recent reports that Apple is planning to have its latest sapphire plant in Mesa, AZ operational in February for a “critical” product component. The displays will also be flat, not curved, the Post says.

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